2012 was a good year. It’s always a good year when the world doesn’t end.

It was a good year for me, personally, though. I accomplished something that had been eight years in the works – publishing In the Shadow of the Mountains. And surprisingly, no one has yet called me out for being a goofy poser author, despite the undeniable facts that I am goofy and that I do a lot of posing. This is a good thing. I got my teeth into a Masters program, which is also a good thing.

It had its moments, of course – losing a loved one is never the best way to start a new year – but for all it started out low, it did get better. Maybe starting out low pushed me to make it a good year.

This will not be a long post. I’ve never been able to stick with a New Year’s Resolution, so I stopped making those long ago. I do have some goals, but writing them down will turn them into chores, so they’ll stay in my head, for now.

Instead, I’m going to air a habit I picked up from a friend, Lizzie: list all the little things that made me happy on this last day of 2012:

• I wrote today, after a short dry spell that had almost gotten me worried.
• My soap has peppermint oil in it, so I smell good and my skin is cool and tingly.
• Scramble eggs with chopped garlic sauteed in bacon grease. It’s delicious.
• I finally bought another cheapo bookshelf, which means there is now floor space in my room.
• I filled an old journal and have started on a new one. I always love new journals.
• I warmed up the last pierog from the fridge and ate it slowly. I savored it. It was good.
• It was a cloudy day. It never did rain, but I’m hopeful for tomorrow.

See you next year, everyone.